Head-To-Head Contrast: Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) vs. DHL Group (OTCMKTS:DHLGY)

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) and DHL Group (OTCMKTS:DHLGY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Dividends

Old Dominion Freight Line pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. DHL Group pays an annual dividend of $0.77 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Old Dominion Freight Line pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. DHL Group pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Old Dominion Freight Line has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Old Dominion Freight Line has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DHL Group has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Old Dominion Freight Line and DHL Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Old Dominion Freight Line	19.44%	24.87%	19.47%
DHL Group	4.38%	16.98%	5.40%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Old Dominion Freight Line and DHL Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Old Dominion Freight Line	$5.60 billion	7.87	$1.02 billion	$5.19	40.95
DHL Group	$93.72 billion	0.76	$3.96 billion	$2.86	11.14

DHL Group has higher revenue and earnings than Old Dominion Freight Line. DHL Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Dominion Freight Line, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Old Dominion Freight Line and DHL Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Old Dominion Freight Line	2	13	9	1	2.36
DHL Group	0	5	2	2	2.67

Old Dominion Freight Line currently has a consensus target price of $226.55, suggesting a potential upside of 6.58%. Given Old Dominion Freight Line’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Old Dominion Freight Line is more favorable than DHL Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.8% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Old Dominion Freight Line beats DHL Group on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting. As of December 31, 2023, it owned and operated 10,791 tractors, 31,233 linehaul trailers, and 15,181 pickup and delivery trailers; 46 fleet maintenance centers; and 257 service centers. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina.

About DHL Group

Deutsche Post AG operates as a mail and logistics company in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through five segments: Express; Global Forwarding, Freight; Supply Chain; eCommerce Solutions; and Post & Parcel Germany. The Express segment offers time-definite courier and express services to business and private customers. The Global Forwarding, Freight segment provides air, ocean, and overland freight forwarding services; and offers multimodal and sector-specific solutions. This segment's business model is based on brokering transport services between customers and freight carriers. The Supply Chain segment delivers customized supply chain solutions to its customers based on modular components, including warehousing and transport services; and value-added services, such as e-fulfilment, omnichannel solutions and returns management, lead logistics partner, real estate solutions, service logistics, and packaging solutions for various industrial sectors. The eCommerce Solutions segment provides parcel delivery and cross-border non-time definite international services. The Post & Parcel Germany segment transports and delivers mail communication, parcels, physical and hybrid letters, and special products for the delivery of goods; and offers additional services, such as registered mail, cash on delivery, and insured items. Deutsche Post AG was founded in 1490 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.